It was an emotional day for the family of the missing Germa van den Boom from Nieuwendijk. At midnight, the reward of 250,000 euros expires for the golden tip that should clarify her disappearance. That happened in 1984 and Germa was never heard from again. Although the reward didn’t help, her niece Heidi Langerak doesn’t want to give up. “Hope never ends.”
“It is the last day of six months in which you hope that something will come,” Heidi continues. “You hope that someone will talk for a quarter of a million. You hope someone will tell you what happened or where Germa is.”
Germa van den Boom was nineteen years old when she disappeared in 1984. For the first time she was home alone in Nieuwendijk for a weekend and on Saturday 28 July she went out with friends in Gorinchem. “A neighbor boy dropped her off at home and nothing was heard from her after that,” says Heidi.
In the house, the police found traces of an argument. Small blood spatters were found on the kitchen chairs and there was also blood on the banister. There was no trace of Germa. “For 39 years we have known that a crime has taken place, but we do not know exactly what happened.” And that frustrates the relatives.
Six months ago, the Peter R. De Vries Foundation came up with a reward of a quarter of a million for the tip that leads to Germa. More than 250 tips were received. “Great, but the golden tip was not included..”
“We want to close her story and not see her missing anymore.”
Still, it doesn’t stop for Heidi and her family. “We thought it would stop after this, that we could let it rest after this. But we have now found out that the hoping and searching does not stop. We want to find her so we can grieve and make room for it.”
Heidi Langerak was born on the day her aunt went missing. So she doesn’t know her aunt personally, but her whole life has been dominated by aunt Germa. “I have a big family, but she’s the only one I have a picture of in the living room. She is so connected to my life, even though I don’t know her.” When Heidi looks at pictures of her aunt she sees similarities in the length of her face and in the nose.
She concludes with a final appeal to anyone with any information: “Please, tell me. We want so much to bury Germa and give her a place. We want to close her story and stop seeing her missing. I don’t need to know who you are, but I really want my aunt back.”
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